The idea of ‘work-life balance’ sounds great. But what do you do when everything else is done? In those rare hours that your schoolwork is done and you need some time just for yourself? I’ve compiled a list of low-cost beginner hobbies that anyone could do.
Junk Journaling
This is the practice of taking junk, garbage or things you would have otherwise thrown away and turning them into a collage. All you’ll need is a journal with thick paper to act as the base, scissors, and glue or tape to apply your selected items. Here’s how I do it:
- Spend a few days collecting trash such as candy wrappers, flyers, cards, to-do lists, photos, tags, receipts or anything that catches your eye.
- Arrange your junk on a page in the notebook. The arrangement can be as meaningful or pointless as you’d like it. It’s just about having fun! You can create themes with color or specific imagery.
- You could take this a step further and print out pictures that might go well with your collage. I also recommend finding some old magazines and cutting images out of them to use in your collage.
Here are some of my junk journal entries
Estimated cost: about $30
Photography
I live near the Cayce Riverwalk, so on cool, breezy evenings, I like to take a walk with my camera and find interesting things to take pictures of. You don’t need fancy equipment or expert knowledge to be a photographer; you can just use your cell phone. I like to look for typically-unnoticed things such as bugs or plants.
Here is a link to my Pinterest page with some of my photography
Estimated cost: $0, varies
Cross Stitching
Cross stitching is just one type of embroidery, but it is incredibly versatile. The stitches are x-shaped and form grid patterns. You can use any pixel art design as a guide, or you can just wing it and make something abstract. I like to turn my designs into patches that I can then sew onto a bag. For this craft, you’ll need thread, cross stitch fabric, embroidery needles and scissors.
Here is a quick tutorial video
Estimated cost: $25
Reading
This summer, I ran into the problem of wanting to read but not knowing what. I was trying to read new books, but who's to say I can’t reread a favorite children’s book series? I ended up challenging myself to a summer-long Harry Potter marathon which I completed just days before the semester started. If you’re wanting to get into reading, maybe don’t start with Jane Austen or Donna Tartt, but just return to a classic book you’ve read before. You could also try reading a new genre. This worked for me when I got back into reading this year. I’d always read fiction novels, but I’d never explored memoirs or non-fiction. I read two memoirs this spring and fell in love! The reading experience is so different when you know that the events are true. The emotion in the writing isn’t comparable to anything else.
Here are some of my favorite books:
"The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls
"Set the Boy Free" by Johnny Marr
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Jigsaw Puzzling
I’ve found that I can sit with a jigsaw puzzle for hours on end. The human brain is obsessed with puzzles and patterns; this is scientific fact. We like to look for patterns everywhere and we love problem solving. Why not combine them? You can leave out a puzzle and return to it every few days, or sit down and finish it in an afternoon.
Estimated cost: $20